The present invention is directed to a mechanism for the placement of marker sleeves on wire-like members. More specifically the present invention is directed to a mechanism for stripping non-cylindrical sleeves from a carrier belt on which the sleeves are tightly and slidably arranged and forcibly holding these sleeves in a substantially cylindrical configuration for the facile insertion of wire-like members through the sleeves.
With the advent of highly sophisticated and correspondingly complex electrical and electronic systems, a need has arisen for the detailed labeling of the individual wires and cables present in such a system to aid in assembly, repair and/or subsequent alteration of the electrical or electronic device. As a result of this need, marker sleeves have been developed which are either color coded or include printed indicia for identification of a specific conductor. These sleeves are then positioned over the conductor and held by a variety of known methods. Naturally the placement of such sleeves constitutes an additional step in the fabrication of the electrical or electronic component. Consequently, it is of benefit to facilitate the placement of such sleeves to reduce the cost of incorporating such convenient and often necessary marking systems.
Because of the large number of marker sleeves necessary in any complex electrical or electronic system and because of the variety of distinguishing markings required of such sleeves, it has been found advantageous to load unmarked sleeves onto fingers extending from a continuous carrier belt. The sleeves are of heat recoverable material and may conveniently be positioned on the fingers in an expanded cylindrical shape. The sleeves are then at least partially heat recovered so thay they are tightly and slidably arranged on the fingers. The heat recovery causes the sleeves to acquire a non-cylindrical shape such that printed indicia may be placed on these sleeves in a relatively continuous manner. Such a system is disclosed in Evans et al, MARKER ASSEMBLY AND METHOD, U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 369,836, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,731, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In spite of the obvious advantages in the handling and marking of such sleeves mounted on a continuous carrier, it remains that the sleeves must be removed from the supporting fingers and finally positioned on wire-like members. It is advantageous that such removal and positioning be accomplished in an easy and rapid manner to obtain maximum benefit from such a system at minimum cost.